MN Reads: "The Girl in Building C" by Mary Krugerud

But at the turn of the 20th century, tuberculosis (also known as TB or consumption) was the leading cause of death in the US.

Of course, you didn't hear much about it then, either, because of the stigma attached to the disease.

Mary Krugerud's book is a fascinating look at why and how we stigmatize (and sometimes actually quarantine) sufferers of certain illnesses, how the epidemic coincided with waves of immigrants coming to the United States and the repercussions as a result, and even how medical testing (probably judged unethical by today's standards) put Minnesota way ahead of the curve when it came to eradicating the disease in the US.

The warm and whimsical Patrice Johnson recounts her Minnesota childhood as a Catholic kid in a household where children weren't allowed in the kitchen, her "Lutheran envy," and how bacon could perhaps be the key to bringing lutfisk* to new generations.